Does it matter what department your SEO team is in?

Whether in an agency environment or inside a business, your SEO team is affected by where it’s placed within the organization. But first, a caveat: there isn’t one correct answer for how every company or agency should do things. With that said, understanding the influences in play with certain organizational placements can help you make wiser decisions as you look at the logistics of categorizing an SEO team. So what are the options for where you locate your SEO team? Separate SEO department We’ll start with the obvious answer. Let SEO be its own department. This works for medium to large teams that are able to have their own leadership structure and growth opportunities. The benefits of having this team operate independently include being able to segment the department into functional groups, such as technical SEO, content marketing, link building, etc. Another benefit is that SEO processes are not biased by another department’s focus. When recommendations come from the SEO department, the purposes behind them are clear and specific. Strategy department The strategy department, when present in a company or agency, is responsible for driving customer persona development and business insight research, and then turning those data points into actionable initiatives that will drive the business forward. Having the SEO team under this department can be a symbiotic relationship. Since the strategy department is often on the leading edge of initiatives, having SEO as part of the department can ensure that SEO is being considered from the beginning. The strategy…